Ethan was not slow in claiming his reward. The next morning a note from him spelled it out—‘Make some excuse to your parents for being away this weekend and spend it here with me. I want you waiting for me when I come home after work on Friday.’
It was a straight-out demand. The first of many, Daisy realised, feeling a jolt of stark truth. Her mind had instinctively softened the situation, shaping the relationship she would have with Ethan into an affair, colouring it with hopes and wishes and desires. It struck home now that an affair was a two-way street and Ethan’s mind was set on having their connection only one way—his way. That was the deal she had accepted.
The idea of being so very deeply in his power shot a shiver of fear down her spine. She was used to being her own person, making her own choices. What if Ethan’s demands became intolerable? She couldn’t let him completely dominate her. The line had to be drawn somewhere.
Daisy fought a sense of panic for the rest of the day, telling herself Ethan was a reasonable man. He had shown anger at what he’d considered Lynda Twiggley’s tyranny. He’d treated all the tradesmen with respect. He was not about to use her badly. It wasn’t in his character.
Besides, pride wouldn’t allow her to show him any fear.
In fact, pride insisted she accept his demand gracefully.
In the end, she wrote him a simple little note in reply—‘Thank you. I’ll be here.’
Her parents were in such a euphoric state with future plans of their own, they didn’t question her announcement that she would be away for the weekend, having been invited to spend it with a friend. They were eager for her to have a good time, delighted that she was free to do it and not be tight about money any more.
Daisy packed everything she thought she might need—her tennis gear, bikini, a couple of sets of casual clothes, two dressy outfits, and the gorgeous silk kimono she had bought at a second-hand designer shop, having fallen in love with the wild floral pattern that swirled with red and yellow and orange, chartreuse and olive-green.
Her mouth curled with irony as she folded this garment into her bag. It was a very apt casual robe for this weekend, since she was about to become Ethan’s geisha girl. Certainly there wasn’t any point in taking her pyjamas. She was careful, however, to include the contraceptive pills she’d been taking amongst the toiletries she was packing.
No way was falling pregnant part of the deal. She had her own life to live after these nine months with Ethan, establishing a new career, possibly meeting a man who would want marriage and children with her. She would only be twenty-eight when this was over.
She left home early enough on Friday morning to make a quick shopping foray at the local supermarket before continuing on to Hunters Hill. In keeping with accepting her fate gracefully and also showing gratitude for what he’d done for her parents, she’d decided to welcome Ethan home with the tastiest meal she could cook, as well as wearing her prettiest dress and looking her absolute best. Pretending it was a dinner date would surely help her feel less nervous, and hopefully stop Ethan from jumping on her bones the minute he was through the door.
It had been well over a month—almost two—since their deal had been struck, with no physical contact since then, and he wouldn’t be feeling any need to carry through any seductive routine. The prize was his to take whenever he wanted. She just hoped he’d let her feel…not like a sexual commodity to be used at his convenience.
The renovations to the house had been completed so she had it to herself to do what she wanted without raising any curiosity in the tradesmen who were still fixing up the garage and the storeroom at the back of it. In between dutifully checking their progress, she cooked a lamb ragout, made the sweet corn and sour cream dip her family always devoured first at parties, wrapped slices of prosciutto ham around melon balls, opened a packet of Brie cheese and laid pitted dates beside it, prepared the snow peas and florets of broccoli for last minute microwaving.
Keeping busy helped hold the build-up of tension at bay until after the men had left for the day. Daisy then went into a frantic whirl of getting herself ready for Ethan, using one of the guest bathrooms to take a shower, wash her hair, blow-dry the long brown tresses into curling softly around her shoulders.
Her make-up took longer than usual. It was difficult to stop her trembling hands from smudging the eyeliner and making a mess with the mascara, but the end result was worth the trouble. Her eyes were her best feature and with her hair making a dark, shiny frame for her face, she looked better than Ethan had ever seen her before. Her heart was thumping with the need for him to be surprised at how attractive she could look. The hope that he might see the possibility that she could be a partner for him beyond the bedroom kept sliding through her mind, regardless of how unlikely it was.
Her dress was a lovely, feminine design, made of silk patterned in red and white swirls. It had little cap sleeves, balancing a low, sweetheart neckline which left a hint of cleavage on display. The tightly fitting bodice was styled in a crossover ruche and the swingy skirt fell in graceful folds to knee length. Her bare legs and high-heeled strappy white sandals definitely made it a sexy dress, but not overtly so. She felt good in it, and Daisy needed to feel good about herself. Especially tonight.
Nevertheless, she was hit with a painful pang of total inadequacy when she paused to examine the overall result of her efforts in the mirror. She didn’t match the rich socialites Ethan was accustomed to mixing with, didn’t have their sophisticated polish or their perfect styling. The woman in the mirror might have been good enough for Carl Jamieson but Ethan Cartwright was light years ahead of Carl in the eligibility stakes.
It had been stupid of her to even try to pretend this was a date. She should be wearing her usual jeans, not caring how she looked because it wouldn’t change anything. For whatever reason, Ethan wanted her in his bed. She should probably greet him stark naked, save the bother of taking off her clothes, but everything within her recoiled from taking that line of brutal reality. At least making the most of herself was like putting on a brave face and she needed a brave face to cover up the nervous mess she was fast becoming.
With nothing left to do and not knowing when Ethan would arrive home, she sat in his home theatre and watched quiz shows on television, trying to keep her mind occupied by answering the questions put to the contestants.
She was ready for him.
As ready as she was ever going to be.
CHAPTER TEN
FOR Ethan, it had been a hectic end to the week with clients rearranging their investment portfolios after the share price for the Redback Mining Company had skyrocketed. He was mentally fatigued by the time he finished up on Friday evening—later than he’d wanted to be with Daisy waiting for him at home. He settled into the driver’s seat of his BMW and closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to re-energise himself for the night ahead—a night he’d been looking forward to, impatient for—ever since Daisy had walked away from him.